


winter's lament

by i_was_human



Category: Lost in Translation (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rise of the Guardians Fusion, Angst, Fluff, M/M, No beta we die like mne, Short One Shot, Team as Family, Whump, implied future jaedae, preslash, who is dongho's husband? nobody knows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:47:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26820868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_was_human/pseuds/i_was_human
Summary: And oh, his goal is not to kill. His goal is not to hurt anyone, not to cause the pain he wears like a shroud, because he wants them to be safe, and yet-he can't.He's Wyld, the spirit that haunts the darkness. He's the spirit of lingering winters and frostbite and hypothermia and all the things that make winter oh so dangerous in the same sense that he is the spirit of warm fires and hot drinks and happiness, the spirit of joy as much as he's the spirit of grief.And he isso painfully lonely.
Relationships: Ahn Jaewon | Wyld/Kim Daehyun
Comments: 6
Kudos: 29





	winter's lament

All he can remember is _cold_.

Surely, he thinks, he must have been warm once. Must have been something more than ice and cold and the never-ending chill that cuts through the air and tosses him into the sky.

Surely, he thinks, he wasn't always alone.

He's not alone _now_ , he's aware. There's Sandman - the golden-haired boy with a guitar and a smile - and there's Santa - a dark-haired man with a scowl and some of the kindest eyes he's ever seen - and there's the Easter Bunny - and he doesn't really understand why they call him the Easter _Bunny_ when he's a human - but there's nobody who knows about him.

The years drip by like waning moonlight, rising and falling in a rhythm, and he remains alone.

He - the spirit of winter, the spirit of darkness, of cold and grief and children lost to the cold - remains in the darkness.

And oh, his goal is not to kill. His goal is not to hurt anyone, not to cause the pain he wears like a shroud, because he _wants them to be safe_ , and yet-

he can't.

He's Wyld, the spirit that haunts the darkness. He's the spirit of lingering winters and frostbite and hypothermia and all the things that make winter _oh so dangerous_ in the same sense that he is the spirit of warm fires and hot drinks and _happiness_ , the spirit of joy as much as he's the spirit of grief.

And he is so _painfully lonely_.

Sometimes, when the Sandman comes around to sing to the children, he'll sing along - voice cracked and rasping from disuse, tears slipping down frozen cheeks - and he'll push his frozen hair from his eyes, letting the warmth of the Sandman's voice thaw his heart in the little way it can. 

(he knew the sandman once, he thinks. back when he was _daehyun_ , the boy who sang to the village's children.

the boy he killed.

he doesn't speak to him.)

Sometimes, when he sees Santa's sleigh, he'll reach up with one cracked hand, faint memories of laughter and warmth and _joy_ at the back of his mind, and every time, he drops it.

Sometimes, when he sees the Easter Bunny, he'll stir a bit, torn clothes chafing against frostbitten skin, and he'll reach out, watching as the man dances through the budding grass and laughs.

Oh, he doesn't mean to hurt anyone, doesn't _want to_ , but he is so _painfully lonely_.

* * *

At some point, Pitch comes for him.

The man is an old-time picture of opulence, he muses - greasy smile, slicked-back hair, protruding stomach and hairy knuckles - and he tilts his head, blinking a few times to clear the haze from his eyes.

"Wyld," the man croons, and he blinks, unsure of what to say. "I finally found you."

Wyld doesn't reply.

Doesn't have the energy to.

Grief is slow, sluggish, something that saps energy and joy and life, and he has _so much grief_ to contend with lately.

"Join me," the man breathes, and Wyld tilts his head a little bit more, unsure of what to say. "Together, we can bring the Boogeyman to the _entire world_."

Does he realize how he sounds?

Wyld's nails curl into the snow, red clumps collecting in his hands, and he doesn't reply.

(his hair was black, once, he thinks - back before the cold stole life and love and turned it red with the blood of everyone he should've saved.)

"Do you really have nothing better to do?"

Wyld tilts his head a bit, blinks up at the man above him. 

Ah.

Santa.

That's odd.

" _You_ ," Pitch spits, and Santa rolls his eyes, stuffing his hands into his jacket. "You petty _present-pusher_."

"That's the worst insult I've ever heard."

Arms wrap around his body, and Wyld only blinks as Santa hoists him into his arms, eyes drifting shut as the conversation continues.

He's just tired.

He's so, so tired.

* * *

"Are you sure this is our fourth?"

Dongho fixes Minsoo with a withering glare, and the silver-haired man huffs, staring back at the form in the bed. "What? It's true!"

"He's just a kid," Daehyun whispers, something between horror and grief shining in his eyes. "He's just- he's so _small_."

"Aren't you _actually a kid_?" Minsoo asks, and is ignored.

"We're going to try and warm him up slowly," Dongho states, staring at the boy's frozen hair. "The yetis know how to deal with hypothermia."

"And what about your _husband_?" Minsoo snipes, and Dongho's brow twitches.

"I'm not asking you to _like him_."

"Oh, I just thought he'd help, if he really _is_ as great as you say-"

"What are you-"

"Hyungs," Daehyun cuts in, and Minsoo and Dongho turn in unison, twin expressions of fury on their faces.

...honestly, he has to wonder when they'll acknowledge they're friends.

"What are we going to do?"

He reaches out to pull two strands of Wyld's hair apart, grimacing at the tackiness of the strands. "He's been alone for so long..."

"That's our fault," Dongho points out, and Minsoo kicks him.

"I _know that_!"

"Pitch wants him," Daehyun continues, reaching out to rub the back of his hand, "so we can't... we can't leave him alone."

"Not going to happen."

Minsoo plants his hands on his hips and grins, tossing his hair out of his eyes like some sort of superhero. "Pitch won't get his hands on him!"

"You're a bunny," Dongho deadpans, and Minsoo kicks him again.

"Half-bunny!"

"It's your better half."

" _Hey_!"

Daehyun sighs as Minsoo tackles Dongho into the cabinet, and he picks up his guitar, fingers brushing over the strings for a moment before he starts to sing.

Hopefully, he can give Wyld some sweet dreams.

* * *

In the end, it takes nearly two weeks for Wyld to wake up.

Dongho's stressed about Christmas - and honestly, Daehyun doesn't understand how anyone can fear him after seeing him with children - and Minsoo's stressed about Easter, as he is _all the time_ , so it falls to Daehyun to watch over Wyld.

His job is _theoretically_ 24/7/365, but Wyld's _so small_ , and he needs sweet dreams while he sleeps, so really, it's just resource allocation.

Right?

Right.

But really - what could Wyld be protecting? From the rumors Daehyun's heard, he's a spirit of winter - one that kills children in the cold and has hair dyed red with blood (which he can, in fact, confirm, due to a very horrific hair washing session) - so how does that fit with the rest of them?

Daehyun's the Guardian of Dreams, Dongho's the Guardian of Wonder (which is actually adorable) and Minsoo's the Guardian of Fun, so what is Wyld?

He's not sure, honestly. 

He just hopes the Lady of the Moon hasn't made a mistake.

Dongho insists she hasn't - and perhaps that's one of the benefits of age, Daehyun supposes, since he knew the Lady (Nari?) since before she went back to the moon - but with Minsoo's doubt, he's really not sure.

Thinking is hard.

He picks up his guitar and starts to strum a gentle melody once more, lips curling into a grin as Wyld's brow smooths and his faint shivers lapse into the occasional twitch.

God, this boy deserves so much better.

He hasn't even talked to him, yet if anything happened to him, he'd go to war for him.

Which - thinking about the way Pitch looked, dark eyes shining with sick _hunger_ \- might end up being necessary.

Daehyun screws his eyes shut, fingers pressing into the frets a bit harder than he really has to.

He'll fight for Wyld, no matter what it takes.

* * *

The first time he wakes up, he's barely lucid.

He has about enough time to register someone's singing before he's back out, drifting away to lands of darkness and cold and _emptiness_.

The second time he wakes up, it goes a little bit better.

There's a man with golden hair by his bedside, a guitar in his hands and gentle words slipping through his lips, and he tilts his head, blinking wearily at his companion.

"Oh!" the man exclaims, and it's the Sandman, he realizes, watching as the man pushes his glasses up his nose. "You're awake! Do you know where you are?"

Nope.

"You're at Santa's Workshop," the Sandman smiles, "and my name's Daehyun. Dongho-hyung - that's Santa - and Minsoo-hyung - he's the Easter Bunny - are out at work, so I'm staying here with you!"

What?

"Can you speak?"

He blinks for a moment, debating whether to try for words or not before shaking his head.

His hair's wet, he realizes, watching as a few dark strands fall in his eyes. It's wet and _clean_ , cleaner than it's been in years, and he reaches up to grasp it, marveling at the smoothness. 

"What's your name?" Daehyun asks, and he blinks, unsure of how to respond. "Not Wyld, I mean. Your other name!"

What?

The silence stretches on, and he slowly shakes his head, unsure of how to reply.

 _Other name_?

"You don't have one?" Daehyun guesses, and he nods, slow and wary. "Ah... I can give you one!"

What is _up with this kid_?

"Jaewon!" Daehyun proclaims, reaching out to poke the space between his brows. "I hereby name you Jaewon!"

He blinks at Daehyun's finger, then at the man in general.

What?

"Do you like it?" Daehyun asks, and he - Jaewon - dips his head, gaze falling to his hands. "It just felt right. Y'know, I'm the Naming Man!"

What?

"I name everyone," Daehyun giggles, pulling a small wooden sculpture out of his pocket. "Like this! This is my best friend!"

Jaewon studies the sculpture, taking in the woman's hair and lips, and his gaze drifts back to Daehyun, a silent question in his eyes.

"Her name's Minyoung," Daehyun explains, "so I named the sculpture Mini."

...cute.

"Anyways," Daehyun beams, resting his chin on his hand, "I'm gonna grab breakfast! I'll be right back, Jaewon-ah!"

Jaewon blinks as the Sandman rushes out of the room, his guitar leaning against the chair and boots pounding against the floor, and despite himself, his lips curl into a tiny grin.

...what a strange kid.

**Author's Note:**

> a request from @ninidecalini on twit!! thanks so much for the req and i hope it was enjoyable to read~
> 
> fic inspired by winter's lament by rival consoles
> 
> ~~also guess who dongho's husband is hjdfhjgkfd~~
> 
> [twit](https://twitter.com/i_was_human_) | [lit fic discord!](https://discord.gg/CNunB74)


End file.
